Auction Clearance Rates and Spring Sales During Lockdowns
Weekly Real Estate Market Update with Leigh Martinuzzi
Spring is just around the corner and this year will most likely be a delayed spring selling season if lockdown restrictions in the ACT, NSW, and Victoria don’t ease. With lower levels of consumer confidence and uncertainty in an ability to move during lockdowns, people are reluctant to do anything. Of course, it becomes harder to buy and sell property virtually, although evidently, it is still happening.
Typically, many homeowners choose to sell in Spring with Sydney often leading the way. Statistics provided by CoreLogic highlight that over the last decade to the end of 2019 on average in Australia we’ve seen the number of new listings in Spring increase by 15.7% and the number of sales up by 6.8%. At the same time while there are many more property seller’s in Spring, buyer numbers usually increase too. Brisbane has typically seen a 12% plus spike in new listings in Spring. On the Sunshine Coast, the number of new property appraisal requests has increased and we expect many more homeowners will list their homes to sell over the next couple of months, and, of course, the advantage is that we are not in lockdown.
The reality is that the continued lockdowns will subdue listings and sales in those areas affected. Last year in September while in lockdown, Melbourne saw a decrease of properties listed for sale by 80.7% below the five-year average. And what was observed once the lockdown ended in October was that there was a flood of properties listed for sale. In December, usually a very quiet time for property sellers, Melbourne found property listings jumped up by 40%. This surge was also has been witnessed in NSW in 2020 when lockdowns ended last time around.
Summer may become this year’s Spring selling season as it appears our southern neighbors may remain in lockdown for weeks to come. Will this affect the Spring selling season here on the Sunshine Coast? I think yes and no. Local buyers will be active however our southern state buyers may be less willing to purchase sight-unseen even though this has become more regular. Also, there will be a lag effect of buyers who need to sell first before they purchase here and therefore may not be ready until restrictions ease. Business as usual in an unusual time!
Auction Results State by State. (Auctions/Private Sales)
Queensland – =72% (126/1362)
NSW – 93% (277/1599)
Victoria – 90% (237/1007)
ACT – 93% (61/48)
South Australia – 90% (63/317)
Tasmania – NA (0/173)
Western Australia – 100% (4/646)
Northern Territory – NA (1/24)
